Jumpstarted by the iPad, worldwide shipments of media tablets will grow at an annual rate of 57.4% from 7.6 million this year to 46 million in 2014, according to a new
forecast by market research firm IDC. As the category matures and more specialized apps become available, IDC expects media tablets will evolve beyond nice extra
devices to become necessities for many consumers.
The firm defines media tablets as devices with 7- to 12-inch color displays and lightweight operating systems such as Apple's iPhone OS and
Google's Android. This distinguishes them from tablet PCs, based on x86 processors and running full PC operating systems. Though initially marketed as entertainment platforms, IDC says media tablets
will eventually also appeal to business users through productivity apps.